England’s likely XI for the Ashes opener will only feature up to five players with Test experience in Australia, but that won’t do a thing to impact their confidence according to their skipper
England captain Ben Stokes isn’t worried about his team’s lack of experience in Australia, adamant the players at his disposal are matchwinners who can change the contest in the blink of an eye.
Even if veteran paceman Mark Wood is cleared to play in the Ashes opener in Perth, starting on Friday, England’s XI will boast only five players with Test experience in Australia.
Joe Root, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope and Stokes are the others, leaving many experts to question how England’s squad will fare in unfamiliar conditions.
England’s Bazball approach is also untested in Australian conditions, adding another layer of unpredictability.
Stokes has been doing his best to prepare his squad as best as he can for the unique challenges of playing in Australia.
But he has no doubts his players boast the skill sets needed to thrive, and don’t require his advice on how to go about it.
“In terms of their skill, we’ve picked a squad that are obviously the best players in England,” Stokes said.
“They’ve all proven themselves on the biggest stage, that they can win games of cricket for England.
“They can change a game in the blink of an eye.
“So in terms of telling them what to do cricket-wise – nothing. Just keep going out and doing what you’ve been doing, because it’s been pretty good.”
Wood, who underwent knee surgery in March, hasn’t played a Test match in 15 months.
The 35-year-old was only able to send down eight overs in England’s warm-up match before suffering hamstring tightness, and it would be a big gamble to throw him into the Test cauldron in Perth.
England are also weighing up whether to play spinner Shoaib Bashir or unleash an all-out pace attack on what is expected to be a lively Perth Stadium wicket.
A total of 17 wickets fell on the opening day of last summer’s Australia v India Test match, and the pitch still had a green tinge to it on Thursday.
Australia’s hopes of a first-up victory took a blow when both skipper Pat Cummins (back) and fellow paceman Josh Hazlewood (hamstring) were ruled out.
Scott Boland will replace Cummins, while paceman Brendan Doggett has been confirmed for a Test debut to fill the void left by Hazlewood.
Australia will also hand a debut to opener Jake Weatherald, freeing up Marnus Labuschagne to stay at his preferred No.3 slot, and allrounder Cameron Green to bat at No.6.
Allrounder Beau Webster was the unlucky player to miss out.
England haven’t won a Test match in Australia since their victorious 2010/11 campaign, and will start as underdogs.
2025-26 NRMA Insurance Men’s Ashes
First Test: November 21-25, Perth Stadium, 1:20pm AEDT
Second Test: December 4-8, The Gabba, Brisbane (D/N), 3pm AEDT
Third Test: December 17-21: Adelaide Oval, 10:30am AEDT
Fourth Test: December 26-30: MCG, Melbourne, 10:30am AEDT
Fifth Test: January 4-8: SCG, Sydney, 10:30am AEDT
Australia squad (first Test only): Steve Smith (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Brendan Doggett, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, Mitchell Starc, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster
England squad: Ben Stokes (c), Harry Brook (vc), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wk), Josh Tongue, Mark Wood
